Nissan Leaf will be available for short term hire in London through partner Europcar.

Guillaume Cartier, Nissan‘s vice president for sales operations said:

“There are two distinct reasons for joining forces with Europcar to introduce Nissan Leaf to the short term rental market. The first is obvious: with its absence of tailpipe emissions and an outstanding driving pleasure, the Nissan Leaf is the perfect car for the inner city. The second is for drivers currently unsure whether an EV is suitable for their needs. By renting a Nissan Leaf and living with it in real world conditions they can evaluate the car in their own time.”

The Nissan Leaf has 110 mile range, which is more than 90% of UK commuters drive in a day.

Europcar will recharge it free of charge, even waiving the standard service fee usually made for vehicle refuelling, just to make hiring the Nissan Leaf simpler for customers.

Customers can also call a Nissan Hotline with any queries they might have about the vehicle, and, at the end of the hire every customer will be … Read More

New York City goes electric! Nissan and the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission put together a pilot program adding six Nissan Leaf electric vehicles to the NYC normal taxi service.

Nissan is looking for owner-operators and fleet operators who are interested in participating in this pilot program. Each participant will receive a lease on a Nissan Leaf to use as a taxicab for up to a year free of charge.

The goal is to gain valuable feedback about how the electric cars function as taxis on the busy streets of New York City and to show people that electric vehicles are viable options.

Nissan has developed a ‘Wireless Charging System’ that allows recharging simply by parking the vehicle. Charging is able to start automatically once the vehicle is above the charging device installed in the ground of the car park.

The 2012 Nissan Leaf is the second generation of Nissan’s all-electric family hatchback, following on from the highly popular 2011 Nissan Leaf.

But one year on from the original Leaf‘s launch, what’s different in the 2012 model? Here’s our list of things we think you need to know about the revised 2012 Nissan Leaf.

Charging

Like most other electric cars on the market, it will come complete with a level 2 J1772 charging port, capable of recharging from a suitable level 2 charging station from empty in between 6 and 12 hours, depending on the power provided by the charging station, temperature and the car’s state of charge.

Just like the 2011 Nissan Leaf, it will be possible to charge the 2012 Nissan Leaf from a 110-volt domestic power socket — but this kind of charging is not recommended by ourselves or Nissan and could take up to 20 hours from empty.

When it comes to rapid charging, the higher specification 2012 Nissan Leaf SL will feature a direct-current rapid charging port as standard, allowing it to charge to 80 percent full in under 30 minutes from a … Read More